Clemson QB Cade Klubnik Receives Head-Turning NFL Draft Prediction

It was certainly a disappointing 2025 college football season for Clemson Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik, who entered the year viewed as a first-round talent but watched his NFL Draft stock plummet throughout the campaign.

Klubnik ended up throwing for 2,943 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 65.6 percent of his passes. He also rushed for 94 yards and four scores.

That was a far cry from Klubnik's 2024 season, when he finished with 3,639 yards, 36 touchdowns and six picks while also adding 463 yards and seven scores on the ground.

As a result of Klubnik's decline, most view him as a Day 3 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, with some even going as far to say that he could fall all the way to the seventh round.

However, Bleacher Report's Damian Parson recently published a scouting report on Klubnik, and he actually has the 22-year-old pegged as a third-round selection.

Parson went as far to compare him to Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix as far as having a similar pre-draft grade, and he feels that Klubnik has starter upside.

There is no doubt that Klubnik has talent. He is very athletic, which gives him some versatility as a passer and allows offensive coordinators to utilize nuance in their play calling. He is also a pretty accurate passer.

However, Klubnik's rather pedestrian arm strength is a problem, as is his processing speed and his ability to read defenses.

It's those drawbacks that probably makes it more likely that Klubnik will be a backup rather than a starter on the NFL level, but he certainly stands a chance of making spot starts.

Klubnik is generally not perceived as a top-five quarterback prospect in this draft class, which is definitely an indictment considering this quarterback class is very thin.

But perhaps a quarterback-needy team (or at least a squad in need of a backup) will actually take a chance on Klubnik on Day 2 this April.

It seems more likely, however, that Klubnik falls to Day 3 and ends up having to fight for a roster spot in training camp next summer.

Klubnik spent four seasons at Clemson and became the Tigers' starting signal-caller during his sophomore campaign. He totaled 73 passing touchdowns and 24 interceptions throughout his collegiate tenure.